Business rebirth is always possible – with the right help
The online fashion retailer Boohoo is buying Debenhams without its stores and staff, confirming the demise of the high street.…
My stamp duty solution for the Chancellor
On the Wednesday in early July when Rishi Sunak announced a temporary increase from £125,000 to £500,000 in the stamp…
Sell bitcoin, buy Tesla
Which is madder, bitcoin at $41,500 — oops, make that $31,000 on Monday — or Tesla shares at $880 apiece?…
The Brexit deal has left the City to fight for its own future
‘This Article shall not apply with respect to financial services.’ That’s what it says on page 92 of the EU-UK…
My fateful appearance at the Bank of England’s Christmas drinks
Tidings of comfort as the vaccination programme advances, but shortage of joy. That’s my summary of a season in which…
Can Mike Ashley defy high street reality?
Separating heroes from villains in the great retail survival struggle is like spotting bent coppers in Line of Duty —…
Philip Green will be remembered as a nasty stain on capitalism
There really isn’t much left to be said about Sir Philip Green as his Arcadia fashion empire collapses into administration,…
The Co-op Bank isn't worthy of its name
We’ve heard a lot this week about infrastructure spending, and how much more will be needed if the UK is…
If taxes must rise, Sunak should pick on private equity instead
It’s not axiomatic that taxes must rise to pay for the pandemic, if you seriously believe the surge in growth,…
China’s rockstar-of-tech has fallen foul of Xi
FTSE indices soared as the Biden Bounce met vaccine euphoria, underpinned by the Bank of England’s announcement of another £150…
Ruthless Ryanair could show us the future of aviation
Aviation, nuclear power and public transport — along with good restaurants, golden retrievers and hand-knitted bed socks — are, as…
What’s the point of trying to break up ‘big tech’?
The ‘antitrust’ law suit launched by US authorities against Google has been reported as a potential turning point in the…
Who’d want the job of vaccinating the nation?
Is that a light at the end of the tunnel — or a second lockdown thundering unstoppably towards us? News…
Why now is the perfect time to invest in art
The Bank of England has told commercial banks to prepare for the possibility of negative interest rates. This last hypothetical…
The Blackburn brothers who are bringing Asda home
What a triumph of entrepreneurial empire-building — if that’s still an acceptable phrase — is the £6.8 billion acquisition of…
Could ‘clean tech’ save the aviation industry?
What advice can I offer Alok Sharma, who took a pasting in the weekend press for his lacklustre performance as…
It’s not all fluffed lines: the serious business of amateur dramatics
The greatest pain of lockdown has been, for me, the absence of am-dram. In one half of my life I’m…
The end of the line for the rail franchise fiasco
Good riddance to the passenger rail franchise system which has finally been killed off by Covid, though a majority of…
The Japan trade deal shows how desperate we are for investment
A small cheer for Liz Truss’s treaty with Japan. It is, says the official press release, ‘the UK’s first major…
Wrecking the Brexit talks won’t help our fishermen
‘Every country has a political problem with its fishermen,’ wrote Peter Walker, the Conservative minister who negotiated the first effective…
Now get off your sofa to help save the arts
Along, cold weekend brought a haul of business news more bad than good. The worst was from aero-engine maker Rolls-Royce,…
Zoom falling: has the video-call novelty worn off?
A takeover battle for BT would bring much-needed excitement to the City — as well as a major political row.…
Has Downing Street calculated the real cost of quarantine?
Doing the math, as the Americans say, became this column’s theme after I abandoned another planned trip to France. Seven…
The battle to tackle excess boardroom pay may already be won
At a low moment in late March, I suggested that all large companies should consider temporary cuts in executive salaries…
In defence of Amazon
We should take heart from BP’s £5.1 billion second-quarter loss, accompanied by a halving of its dividend. What’s good about…
